The name Urinetown may put some people off but it’s all part of the humour in this satirical comedy musical which delivers a powerful message on greedy corporations, capitalism and environmental sustainability.
Directed by Andrew Baker, Urinetown is the story of a town in which a devastating drought has led a government-enforced ban on private toilets in an attempt to preserve water usage. The population must now pay for the “privilege to pee” at public toilets. These public amenities are owned and operated by Urine Good Company (UGC).
As in every city, there are good areas and bad areas, Amenity 9 is the worst of the worst. Here, the down and out-of-luck residents, scramble each morning and evening to find enough money to pay for the usage of Amenity 9 toilets. Urinating and defecating in public are strictly against the law but those who can’t afford to use a public amenity, it’s their only option. If caught, they are sent to “Urinetown”. However, it doesn’t take long to figure out that Urinetown is not an actual town.
When Old Man Strong is hauled away to “Urinetown” his son Bobby Strong leads the residents on a revolution against the government and the corporations, in particularly UGC.
After crossing paths with the good-natured but naive Hope Caldwell, he discovers she’s the daughter of the UGC’S tyrannical and money-hungry CEO, Caldwell B. Caldwell but his love and affection for Hope does not deter him on his mission to bring about social equality and justice, and most importantly, to pee for free.
The concept of the musical is based on the idea that “people multiple faster than their resources” from the British economist, Thomas Robert Malthus’ (1766-1834). The play takes that idea one step further with drastic measures in place for preservation of water resources.
Although Urinetown is a cautionary tale set in the near future, the music, the costumes, even the manner in which they spoke and overall feel of the musical gives off strong 1930s prohibition era vibes.
In reality, charging to use a public amenity is not so unusual especially in Europe and so it was this pay-per-use toilet that inspired writer Greg Kotis to create Urinetown.
The whole cast delivered a phenomenal first-class performance. Izzi Green stood out with a stunning vocal performance.
Urinetown is such a clever satirical musical. I particularly found funny the flashback scenes with Old Man Strong and Tiny T. Officer Lockstock and Little Sally act as narrators throughout the musical and their interactions are hilarious.
Urinetown is currently playing at the Liberty Theatre in Perth, and it’s a brilliantly funny satirical musical. It’s sharp commentary on sustainability and corporate greed feels more relevant today than ever before.
A dystopian, drag business trip to Northbridge – what could go wrong? See them on stage before they hit your screen! Welcome aboard Culture Clubbing: Pre-Debut — a one-night-only horror drag king, thing, and burlesque spectacular that takes flight before the release of the upcoming Culture Clubbing filmed series.
Set in a highly censored London dystopia, seven drag stars are granted one last chance to perform at the government-run Culture Club. For one month only, all eyes are on them — except for those locked on the clock. Now, courtesy of their “bloody generous supervisor” Hedona Spike, the Culture Clubbing Seven are taking an all-expenses-paid business trip to Northbridge.
Upon check-in at the Air Risto Terminal (Goodwill Club), passengers—sorry, guests—will receive their boarding passes for two hours of comedic, chaotic, and confronting queer art. Expect turbulence. Expect transgression. Expect to ask yourself why the inflight entertainment involves duct tape, t-gel, and the seductive possibility of lobotomisation. This isn’t your average red-eye. It’s your final boarding call for an outrageous, genre-bending experience that fuses drag, theatre, and dystopian satire.
WHEN: Thursday 13 November 2025 WHERE: Goodwill Club, The Rechabite – Perth/Boorloo TIME: Doors open 7:30pm | 18+ event
THE CULTURE CLUBBING SEVEN
• The Egoist: Aristo Brat
• The Analyst: Lowe Bottomy
• The Rebel: Jude Ass / Oscar Wilder
• The Violence Enabler: Saargeant
• The Wildcard: Peter Stiffen
• The “Outlier”: MILO
OTHER DRAG THINGS CAUGHT IN THE TURBULENCE
• The Only Reason We Have a Pilot: Bunson Burnher
• To Our Disappointment, Not the Emcee: Dane Gerous
• Concerning Circus Creature: Dienasty Whores
• Chemical Reaction of a Drag Thing: Hart Desire
• Bloody Generous Supervisor: Hedona Spike
ABOUT CULTURE CLUBBING
Culture Clubbing is an experimental drag horror project fusing performance art and film to explore censorship, queer identity, and rebellion within oppressive systems. The Pre-Debut event marks the live launch before the filmed series premiere — offering Perth audiences a rare, intimate preview of the mayhem to come.
How refreshing to see a completely new theatre works here in Perth, clearly crafted with great care and thought. Monopoly: The Unauthorised Musical – whilst not perfect – is a breath of fresh air, offering an eclectic soundtrack, and committed performances across the board.
Originally created as a short-form musical by Jasper Cruden for his final composition assessment at WAAPA, the concept has since been fleshed out to full-length musical, now featuring 42 unique pieces of music (including underscoring) and an expanded story.
A strong ensemble cast brings to life our players (literally), each inspired by a classic board game. Together in a kooky Wonderland-esque realm they band together to take on the power hungry Mayfair.
From the moment you enter the theatre you are drawn into the world of the show, with a suite of board games offered in the foyer for patrons to try their hand.
This show was incredibly cast, with each actor not only physically embodying their characters to a tee but leaning into their archetypes with great energy. Strong performances from everyone – Caleb Haidary is astute and noble as Sir Knight, pining over Georgia Goff’s eccentric Lady Luck. Goff also shows great physicality in bringing to life Madame Charade. Ethan Battle was a livewire as Admiral Cannonblast – showing excellent characterisation and vigour. While Stacey Gobey displays her vocal prowess as the cunning Mrs Wordsmith.
Personal standouts were Mary Carter as the audacious Mayfair, with a captivating stage presence and stunning vocal performance, such a joy to watch. While I couldn’t stop smiling at Jake Battle as Baron Von Strategy, always giving 1000% even when not the focus of a scene.
Jordan Richards as game-opposed Scott had the hardest job in my eyes, portraying an ‘average joe’ among a sea of exuberant personalities. While giving a solid performance, true to his character, it ultimately felt a little flat against the rest of the cast simply given its nature.
I really enjoyed the set in this production, minimal but well utilised – Sarah Halton’s design, built by Henry Howard, featured multiple cut-up, jagged wardrobes – again leaning into a whimsical feel, providing an ambiguous sense of time and place. The crooked pieces also help serve as platforms, tables and cupboards throughout which allowed for fun and varied blocking. Imaginative lighting design from Matthew Roberts was also a welcome addition, particularly in the ‘rabbit hole’ and ‘table flipping’ scenes.
As with any new works there were some areas for improvement. Musically, the score is wonderful, spanning a number of genres while keeping true to the essence of the show. The orchestra (under the musical direction of Jasper Cruden) didn’t miss a beat in bringing it to life. A couple songs I felt were misplaced in their whereabouts of the show but still worked well overall. The vocals were slick with harmonies evenly balanced and blending well, though I feel singers were at times over powered by the orchestra. Diction and projection from most whilst singing could also be improved, especially given this is a new work not already familiar to audiences, and the numerous counter-melodies that feature in the show it was sometimes hard to hear the different layers.
Though not a dance heavy show, Tayah Crothers’ choreography was well suited to the genre and executed with flair, while some of the more sharper moments could have benefited from improved timing.
Ian Tassicker’s script is quite witty, something you wouldn’t expect from the dark tones given off in the marketing of the show. A real pleasant surprise. Personally, pacing was a main area for improvement, with some scenes feeling quite clunky in a very intentional set up to a song, while others were the opposite and felt too quick to jump into another tune. I wonder how much of the original song cycle was featured in Act 1 compared to Act 2 as the latter felt quite rushed and not as thought out, in a bid to wrap up loose ends.
All in all, this show is fantastic – though some elements may need refining, it did not impact my overall enjoyment. For a world premiere of a new musical the Roundhouse team have done an excellent job with their debut production, so with just a few weeks left, do yourself a favour and go and see this lively and unique new work.
Today, we’re diving into the whimsical world of Monopoly: The Unauthorised Musical with its creator, Jasper Cruden. Described as a fantastical adventure with a touch of 80’s and 90’s nostalgia, this original musical promises a delightful journey with characters that leap straight out of your favourite games. So, grab your tokens and get ready for a tour through a reimagined board game universe that’s sure to captivate and entertain.
About Monopoly: The Unauthorised Musical
What is this Production about?
The journey of Monopoly: The Unauthorised Musical began in late 2021 when final year WAAPA composition student Jasper Cruden started thinking of clever ways to structure his graduating recital. In typical chaotic fashion, he crafted a simple but entertaining story about some of the player tokens from the classic game ‘Monopoly’ (Boot, Iron, Car, and Scottish Terrier) attempting to bring an explosive end to the rule of a tyrannical queen
Immediately following the success of that performance, Jasper and drummer Ian Tassicker began discussing ideas to further develop the project, with Ian taking on the bulk of the responsibility of re-working the existing story. The story was reshaped to expand the world and bring in characters from classic games such as Chess and Charades, and the human character Scott was added to give audiences a window into this fantastical world.
Join Scott on his unexpected adventure through a fantastical world inspired by ‘Alice in Wonderland’, and 80’s/90’s live action fantasy (‘The Princess Bride’, ‘Labyrinth’) as he meets the likes of the fierce but kindly Lady Luck, dramatic Sir Knight, verbose Miss Wordsmith, awkward Baron von Strategy, unpredictable Admiral Cannonblast, and the ruthless Mayfair.
What character are you playing, and what can you share with us about them?
I’m not playing one of the characters. I created them! I am playing drums in the band though.
Our characters include:
Scott – An uptight lawyer who is known in his town for being no fun at all. He goes on an unexpected journey in a very ‘Alice in Wonderland’ fashion and comes out the other side changed.
Lady Luck – A very hot/cold personality who switches between foul-mouthed aggression and sweet kindness. The leader of the group of heroes and the only one able to protect them from Mayfair. Avatar of cards and dice.
Miss Wordsmith – An overly verbose nerd who struggles to get the other characters to understand her. Avatar of word spelling games.
Sir Knight – A courageous but often overly dramatic warrior. Is compelled to deliver a soliloquy on death every time he sees a skull. Only walks in ‘L’ shapes. Avatar of Chess.
Baron von Strategy – A somewhat cowardly, awkward chap who suffers from the curse of no one ever having heard of his game: ’99 Gnomes That Know How to Knit’.
Admiral Cannonblast: A rambunctious pirate who acts as an agent of chaos among the group. Drinks homemade booze made from sea slugs. Avatar of games where you blindly guess where the opponents boats are and attempt to sink them via a grid reference.
Mayfair – The evil tyrant and antagonist of our story. Forces our heroes to play games for her amusement, and drags the losers away to be trapped forever as she attempts to cement her monopoly on power.
What’s challenging about bringing this script to life?
Bringing an entirely original idea into the world is always difficult, but especially so when it’s a full length musical! This project has been in development for 2 years, and it’s been countless hours of drafting, reading, then re-drafting scripts and music. We’re also learning how to function as producers and marketers as we go!
I’ve never been this busy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything at this point.
Why did you want to be involved in this production?
Creating an original work that means something to people is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve also come away from every show I’ve ever played as a musician going ‘I think that script could have worked better if XYZ were changed’, and this is my chance to prove myself right.
What sort of person is going to love this show?
Anyone who is young at heart and finds joy in playing games! There’s something in this show for all ages, and we’ve got such a wide range of characters that everyone should find someone to root for.
What will the audience be thinking about in the car as they drive home after this show?
Personally, I hope they go home thinking about finally getting around to organising that games night they keep putting off!
What’s going to surprise people about this show?
Probably how professional it all looks and sounds! I think most people hear the words ‘Original Musical’ or ‘Debut Show’ and it sets off alarm bells about lower production values or aspects of the show being a bit under-cooked.
Our team is comprised entirely of people who are either in the professional space already or actively working towards entering it, so we’re executing at a high level.
How is this production bringing something new to this story?
The entire story is new, so I’ll answer instead by saying that we’re aiming to bring something new to the theatre scene in Perth, and ideally, the world.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Only that ticket sales are going pretty well, and we’re expecting a full house on opening night. Don’t miss your opportunity to be there for the premiere of something special!
Where can patrons purchase tickets to this production?
Thank you for sharing the captivating journey of Monopoly: The Unauthorised Musical with us. Best wishes for a jam-packed opening night and a fantastical run! May the adventures of Scott and the other beloved characters bring joy and smiles to every corner of the theatre.
